Tears of the Goddess
by Sasha Vane
Summary: Total destruction is nearly at hand. Zophar's resurrection looms, but there is still much for everyone to learn before they're ready to face him-and what comes after. Will love bring them closer to their goals...or rip them apart?
1. Chapter 1

He was the epitome of everything that wrong with the Magic Guild.

He was the epitome of everything she had once believed in.

And he was sitting on the ground, dirt staining his pristine attire as he stared a bush of dying flowers.

Lemina felt a burst of anger swarm through her, though she didn't know if she was angry at his presence or what he represented for her.

"Ghaleon! Get out of here! I should mega toast your behind just for breathing the air of Vane!" She sniffed, nose in the air as she glared down at the former so-called "Magic Emperor" with an anger she usually reserved for lard mass that was Borgan.

"The flowers are dying."

If it wasn't so quiet here, she would have missed his reply. He didn't even other to look at her as one hand gently caressed a dying pink rose that had only a few petals left.

She gritted her teeth. Vane had once been a majestic city known for its elaborate gardens and tapestries, but it had fallen into ruin a thousand years ago.

All because of this man.

"Sorry that we're mega busy just trying to repair the roof over our head to save a few flowers." She couldn't stop the waspish tone, but she didn't want to, either.

"The gardens of Vane were the only places I could ever go to relax," he finally replied after a long moment. "I didn't realize then just what the cost would be. I believed so strongly in what I was doing that I saw little else. But," he finished with a sigh, "it was all for naught. I lost to a mere boy."

He stood abruptly. "I'm sorry, girl, for intruding. I wanted to see the gardens one last time before Zophar recreates the world and shapes it to his desires."

She shouldn't have felt bad then, but she did. He was her enemy, allied with the one being they all sought to destroy before he fully awakened, but there were times like now where she couldn't help but question his allegiance.

"You can stay awhile."

It was hard to tell who was more shocked then, Ghaleon or Lemina herself. He turned and lifted a brow as he now stared down at her.

Had he always been so tall?

Or was it just an effect of the bulky armor he wore?

"Don't pity me, girl." The arrogance she was used to hearing from him came back full-force.

"It's not pity," Lemina said with another sniff. "I understand."

She paused as she realized the truth of her words. She _did _understand. If it wasn't for Hiro, she might have ended up like him, like someone who had thought her own opinions were right and the only ones that mattered.

That people with power were supposed to shape the weak rather than protect them.

Perhaps in their own way, both she and Ghaleon had to mega learn humility.

"You can stay for awhile," she reiterated. "But," she added, glaring again, "if you so much as break anything, Ghaleon, I'll make sure you mega pay!"

"I don't think that will be an issue," Ghaleon replied dryly, eying the shoddy garden.

Lemina turned to head back to her mother to make sure Borgan wasn't leeching on her again, but not before she saw a small smile on Ghaleon's lips.

Who would have thought such a ruthless man could have such a soft, charming smile?

Lemina didn't even hear herself humming off-tune as she walked away.

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_A/N: So! I was playing Lunar earlier and decided to challenge myself by putting some unlikely pairings together in a fic! Don't worry; this one isn't a long shot and I have more pairings and plot to come!_

_Please note that all canon couples will be here in all their glory-but all the single ones are fair game for random pairings!_


	2. Chapter 2

_A/N: Again, just to reiterate . . . no canon couples shall be harmed in the making of this fanfic. All of the single characters, however, should be prepared to lose all sanity!_

_The first few chapters of this fic will be moving quickly enough to the point of Zophar's demise, but that's when a lot is going to be changing for our lovely cast of __tortured__—er, I mean, _excited_ characters. Much of the story will be taking place in the epilogue . . . and there will be some minor plot changes as well, so bear with me. _

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Lemina had had every intention of complaining about Ghaleon's actions after she'd left the garden, but Borgan's usual antics with her mother had prevented her from doing just that.

The bucket of lard had once again been trying to woo her mother, and Lemina would have fire-spelled his butt into the next galaxy if her mother hadn't stopped her.

All they had left to do was defeat the false red dragon and lay claim to Ruby's power before taking on Zophar, but Ronfar was as ready to finally be there for Mauri as Ruby was unready to claim her power, and the drama had unfolded from there.

In the end, Lemina had ended up not saying a word.

She had been too busy helping Hiro and the others save Ronfar and teasing Ruby because of Nall's actions to even think much on what had happened with Ghaleon. It wasn't until they returned to Vane after defeating the false red dragon for supplies—though Lucia had almost left without them in her quest to save Althena—that Lemina even thought about the events of that day.

And it was all because of Borgan.

"Oh, Lemina pumpkin, don't you worry. Miria and I are going to take care of Vane while you fight Zophar," Borgan's deep voice rumbled through the decaying hall of Vane as he loomed in the entrance of the great receiving room of Vane. "Maybe," he added, his entire face and neck turning a splotchy red, "then you'll be ready to accept me as your stepfather, Lemina."

"Two words, Borgan: hands off!" Lemina snapped, covering her face as she shrieked in revulsion. "As if Mother would ever be interested in you! I'm warning you, Borgan, that my fire magic is powerful enough to hit you no matter where I am!"

"Lemina!" Miria's calm voice rang out. "Be more polite and considerate of our guests. Borgan has every right to be here and be treated with the same respect as you do."

Lemina opened her mouth to let out her list of reasons as to why Borgan's actions were unacceptable—after all, she'd helped Borgan and she did want Borgan to become better; she just didn't want Borgan involved with her mother in the process—but her mother's glare had her closing her mouth again.

In both disgust of Borgan and frustration of her mother's continual forgiveness, Lemina escaped to the worn gardens of Vane.

She stopped short when she saw the state of the garden and gaped.

All of the dead plants that had been littering the ground had been cleared away, and all of the debris had been cleared from the pathways and the two small pools in the garden. The missing cobbles from the pathways had been replaced, and the once-dry pools had been polished and refilled so that the water glinted a blue mosaic upon the stones it flowed over. The dead plants had all been replaced with seedlings and saplings that would no doubt be blooming and shooting up by fall, and were all arranged with such precision that the artistic touch was hard to deny. Three stone benches were strategically placed to be in the sunlight without distracting from the gardens themselves, and a lute had been left atop one of them, abandoned.

Lemina couldn't stop her own gasp of wonder.

The gardens had been one of the first things to fall into ruin, especially once the buildings themselves began to crumble. As a child, Lemina used to imagine what the gardens might have looked like a thousand or more years ago, in Vane's golden age, but she'd never had the opportunity to see them as anything but dead and dying. No one had any time to spare on the gardens though, or the drive, so she'd been left wanting.

It was one of the first things she'd wanted to fix with the silver she'd collect in fees for new recruits to Vane, but even she had to realistically agree that things like the roof and walls had to come first. Ramus had once offered her silver to help her restore Vane once he figured out how to turn his store around, but Lemina had refused to marry him to save Vane.

She had had every intention of saving it on her own—at least, until she'd met Hiro and the others and realized that she couldn't do it on her own. Still, she wouldn't give up until Vane was even better than it had been before.

"Vane seems much smaller now, especially the manor and school. It may not be the Vane I knew, but I felt the urge to attempt to restore at least part of it to its former glory."

Lemina nearly jumped at Ghaleon's voice as it came from behind her, and she whirled around to find Ghaleon staring off into the gardens as he had before, instead of her.

"Most of the original manor has decayed or fallen apart," Lemina replied, feeling compelled to answer though he seemed to pay no attention to her. She couldn't shake her mother's lecture on being polite, and she knew that despite Ghaleon's past that her mother would not allow Ghaleon to be the exception. "The ruins are so dangerous that Mother closed off most of the manor and had the walls sealed so no one could get hurt. There also were some mega modifications done, too, by Premier Mia Ausa, including the removal of the prisons and the towers."

"Hmm. It's hard to believe that timid child grew to be a capable leader . . . but then, she did have her mother's spirit." Ghaleon moved over to one of the stone benches and sat down, raising his head to the sky as if he enjoyed the sunlight on his face.

Neither one of them spoke for several long moments, but Lemina finally couldn't keep quiet any longer. "Was this the way the gardens of Vane used to look?" she blurted, curiosity finally getting the better of her as his words finally set in.

Ghaleon had been the one to restore the gardens.

Had he done so with his own two hands? Or had he brought some of the Chosen with him?

Somehow, she couldn't see him relishing the idea of the Chosen following him around to do the real work, so she supposed he must have done the work himself.

How long had it taken?

"It is just a garden," Ghaleon replied nonchalantly in his usual dry tone. "Don't look too much into it, girl. I just had a momentary desire for the past."

"It's beautiful." She inhaled slowly, loving the smell of fresh air and the vitality of life growing around her. Vane needed this, she realized. She couldn't just repair falling buildings. She had to bring the life back to the city. "I never thought the gardens would look so mega cool."

Again, she wondered about Ghaleon's true allegiance—why bother restoring a garden when Zophar had the intention of destroying everything? What were his true motivations?

Ghaleon had turned around by the time she turned her gaze back to him. "We will meet again, girl, in this very spot."

He disappeared before Lemina could question him further.


	3. Chapter 3

_A/N: Another day, another chapter/interlacing one-shot thing! Or something like that._

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It seemed like everyone had lost themselves.

Jean knew the feeling—she'd suffered from it herself at first when shed escaped the Shadow Dragon Cult and the masked Lunn.

This time. However, she didn't ache because of her past. She ached because even with her past, she couldn't seem to help her friends.

Lemina had become introspective, often retreating to Vane's gardens or the cave of trials as she tried to resummon her magic. Leo continued to beat himself up for aiding the Chosen and the false Althena just as Ronfar himself had.

Even Ruby looked glum.

And Hiro... It was obvious he was suffering the most, and without his strength, everyone else seemed to fall further apart.

Jean knew Hiro was hurting. She'd spent the past few weeks with him, knowing that if his heart wasn't already captured by Lucia that Jean herself would have attempted to woo him. Now, however, she knew the pain the separation from Lucia was causing Hiro.

But she couldn't think of much to say to him now, not when he looked so defeated. Her initial attempt had gone so poorly that he'd gone from hurt to silent, so she hadn't bothered to try again. She'd already done enough to damage Hiro's battered heart.

He was stunned, shaken, and who could blame him?

Her mind was too shocked to absorb most of the information as well.

Althena was dead and Lucia had been kidnapped by Zophar. It seemed almost like all of their hope was lost already, and they hadn't even really fought Zophar yet.

It was disheartening, but Jean refused to give up just yet. After all, they'd done so much already, come so far, that she couldn't allow herself to lose hope now. Hiro had been their hope for so long that perhaps it was time for them to be that for him.

His heart had suffered the most damage of all of them.

"How is he?"

Jean was surprised to see that Leo had also taken refuge on the roof of Vane.

"You haven't spoken to him yet?" she asked, still surprised at the new, quieter Leo when the loud, brash Lord Leo and his men had been antagonizing the caravan for the past few years.

"I . . . still don't know if this is the right decision," he replied after a moment, and she realized he must still feel unworthy after what he'd done—and the fact that he thought he was doing what was right seemed only to wound him more.

"Have you ever had a good glass of ale?" she asked, realizing that Leo needed something else to think about. "You and Ronfar have been friends for years, right? Sometimes, there's nothing better than a good mug."

"White Knights do not partake of ale."

And there was the crux of the problem, she supposed. He wasn't a White Knight anymore, but he still carried himself like one.

Would he ever be able to break free of that mold or would he continue to be the broken man before her?

Broken, as she used to be broken before she'd found new life and purpose at the carnival caravan.

He'd always had a purpose before, but now he was left floundering. Perhaps that's what Leo needed too . . . a sense of purpose and life. Something for him to look forward to, to revitalize himself.

"Well, I don't know if you could drink more than Ronfar, but maybe when all of this is over, you won't mind then if I dragged you off to some bar and keep you there drinking until we're both too inebriated to find the door!" She laughed lightly, hoping he would accept—and wondering why it mattered so much if he didn't.

Leo took so long to answer that she was afraid he never would.

"Maybe someday," he said, and his response was so quiet and unsure that she almost didn't hear it.

She rested backwards against the wall, in a pose that might have been seductive if she was wearing her dancing garb instead of her new martial arts garb.

"You should talk with Hiro, Leo," she finally said, deciding that Leo needed to deal first with his own issues before anything else. "I think he needs you more than you realize."

Jean smiled at him before heading down the stairs back to the run-down manor, knowing that Leo was watching every step she took for hesitation. Each step she took was deliberate, showing him she had no regrets and that she'd meant what she said.

Somehow, it seemed that though she failed at cheering up Leo as much as she had at cheering up Hiro, she managed to give herself courage and purpose when she'd been floundering earlier.

Their goddess was dead and Lucia was gone, but Althena had been right, Jean realized, watching both Hiro and Leo struggle with their own demons.

They were all far stronger than they knew themselves to be now, and she just knew that if they supported each other like they had been all along, they could easily bring down Zophar and any of his minions.

She smiled at Miria and briefly told Lemina's mother what happened on the roof before she headed out of the manor, and she was even more convinced of her beliefs when she saw Lemina heading out behind her with all of Lemina's staves bundled up in her arms.

Lemina had the same idea Jean herself had, to become even stronger than she'd been before. They would need every last bit of strength to defeat Zophar—but, most of all, they would need to rely on each other.

It seemed it was time for Jean to train with Lunn, who had traveled to Vane along with Mauri to help out as much as they could. Jean barely hid a smile as Lunn saw her and immediately fell into position, knowing what she needed without saying a word. Jean needed to be at the top of her game if they had any hope of defeating Zophar.

But most of all, she needed to be strong enough to protect her friends and the rest of the world.


	4. Chapter 4

_A/N: Sorry, guys. I managed to contract bronchitis and was in bed the past few days (weeks?) trying not to die or something. It was horrid. Plus I'm doing NaNoWriMo, so that's fun, too. Loooads. _

_Anywho, here's part 4. Enjoy!_

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Lemina didn't know what to do.

She sat on one of the polished garden benches, staring down into one of the newly planted flower beds, though her vision began to blur as she became lost in her thoughts.

She knew things were bad—how could she not? Lucia was kidnapped, Althena was dead, and Zophar was on the warpath to consume everything.

But what could she do? She wasn't brave like Hiro. She wasn't honorable like Leo or dependable like Jean, and she certainly wasn't lucky or trustworthy like Ronfar, for all of his otherwise perverted qualities.

Sometimes she wondered if she even brought anything good to the group besides her magical skills. Maybe they just kept her around for her ability to lop around giant fireballs.

_Ha, there's Lemina. Let's laugh at the girl whose personality and personal life sucks. She dresses like a frugal old maid and she scares people. She can't do anything else well at all; she can't even restore Vane. Ha, ha, ha._

Lemina sighed.

What could she do?

"Surely you're not thinking of trying to save this miserable planet, now are you, girl? You'll never succeed."

"Can it, Ghaleon. I'm not in the mood. Go away before I mega blast you right back to Zophar." Lemina heard the footsteps behind her but she didn't bother turning around.

"My, my, what a temper you have, girl. I must say, I'm quite surprised. Little Mia was the very opposite of you. How is it her power breeds true but you lack her innate poise and refinement?"

Lemina ground her teeth together. "I'd like to see you try being ladylike in this mess! I'd rather work hard to restore Vane than waste time being ladylike!" She huffed as she leapt up from the bench.

"Mmm, yes. I could see how that would keep one busy. I could see how it could take more time to rebuild than it did to destroy."

Lemina wanted to fireball his ass for the smirk he now wore, and she felt all of her pent-up anger—because of Borgan, because of Lucia, because of Zophar and everything else that Lemina couldn't control or fix—swarm through her, and she snapped, forgetting the good Ghaleon had done for them, the faeries . . . and even for Vane. "Well, at least I'm trying to fix it, unlike some tyrannical dictators I could name! You're nothing but a mega destructive monster and I almost wish Zophar would keep bringing you back, just so we could keep killing you for what you've done!"

She turned and stalked from the gardens, nose high in the air and barely even noticing Jean and the others as she stalked to the Cave of Trials to begin regaining her magic. She _would_ be strong enough to make a difference, and she _would_ show Ghaleon everything she was capable of.

And then Ghaleon could get swallowed by Zophar for all she cared, like Lucia almost had.

She would later regret that those were the last words she ever spoke to him before his untimely end.

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"Are you watching over them, Dyne? Those children . . . shine with your light." It was painful for him to speak when his wounded body had been so thoroughly abused by both Hiro and Zophar, though the fleeting aura of Zophar's power led to the destruction of Ghaleon's recrafted body by Hiro.

It was finally time.

Ghaleon smiled as the sun seemed to reach out and wrap around him, softly glowing under the Blue Star. He was ready for it, ready to finally rest his soul and enjoy the peace that heaven would surely offer him now.

After all, he'd done enough, hadn't he? He'd done his best to correct and fix what he could, to guide Hiro, Lucia, and their little entourage and mold them into what they'd need to be to best Zophar.

Ghaleon couldn't undo what he did, but he'd done the next best thing.

He'd finally earned his peace now, surely. Purgatory no longer had any such claims to his person—for that alone he would embrace death a hundred times, just to finally be able to rest in gentle warmth he believed heaven to be.

In many ways, he didn't envy Dyne his fate.

Dyne's spirit had been too strong, too tormented, to ever fully rest, and though Dyne had long since lost his corporeal form, he still continued to be tied to Lunar, doing his best to defend it no matter the personal cost. Somehow, Dyne endured and fought on, continuing to protect Lunar because there could never be another Dragonmaster again—a reason why he'd hated the false human Althena every time she called him by that title, for Ghaleon could never bear that mantle—and so it was left up to Dyne to continue protecting Lunar when no one else had the strength to do so.

Dyne may have had his powers weakened, but he was still the strongest man on the entire planet.

No matter what the boy had believed a millennia ago, Dyne was truly the last Dragonmaster, for only a Dragonmaster would have sought such a fate willingly, without provocation from his Goddess.

Alex, on the other hand, had retired from Dragonmaster and settled down with the human-Goddess to spend the remainder of their humanity in peace.

There was seldom peace for a Dragonmaster, however, and Alex's willingness to let go of everything for a humble life only proved he was never to fully become a Dragonmaster, due to Alex's own personal desires—and a Dragonmaster's personal desires never mattered. What mattered was the people of Lunar's desires and, primarily, the Goddess' own desires—that was the ultimate purpose of the Dragonmaster, to serve his or her life fully for everyone but himself.

The dragons may have accepted the boy as such, but Ghaleon never would. For Ghaleon, Dyne was the greatest . . . and the last.

Still, he'd finally made amends for his past, and he closed his eyes to embrace the peace the boy had fought for all of those years ago.

It was finally time.


	5. Chapter 5

_A/N: I'm on a roll! _

_Or, rather, I'm struggling with NaNoWriMo so I was unproductive and did this instead. Heh._

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"So, you finally realized, did you?"

Ghaleon started at the familiar, booming voice, and the whiteness that had permeated his thoughts and mind faded, allowing him to open his eyes to see Dyne as the man he'd been before Dyne's own death—Laike.

"It has been awhile, Dyne." Ghaleon turned his eyes to their surroundings, only to see a vague, blurred landscape that bore no resemblance to the afterlife he'd previously been intimately acquainted with. "Where are we?"

"Where is unimportant, Ghaleon." Dyne grinned and pulled Ghaleon into a thumping hug as Ghaleon coughed in surprise.

"Why are we here, Dyne?" He was too proud to let out a gasp of breath despite how roughly his friend had grabbed him . . . and his own recent humility.

"That's a better question, I suppose." Dyne sobered somewhat, his grin becoming lopsided. "Althena always believed in you, did you know? Even when you lost what remained of your humanity, she believed in you and hoped you'd finally become the man we once knew. Her time as Luna didn't change that; in fact, I think her newfound humanity only reinforced that belief. You're here because of that hope."

Ghaleon turned to stare back at his friend in surprise. "I should have known the girl was too lighthearted for her own good." He exhaled slowly.

"Tell me, Ghaleon, what did you learn after you died and Zophar brought you back?"

When Ghaleon didn't speak, Dyne smacked him roughly on the back as Ghaleon groaned in pain. He'd missed a lot of things, but Dyne's rough nature wasn't one of them.

"You've changed, Ghaleon. Your heart finally softened and realized the power of all that humans can accomplish together. It's a lesson even your own death hadn't fully provided you." Dyne gave him a small smile. "However, you aren't done with what you need to learn, and you still have things to do."

"Dyne, has the years gone to addle your brain?" Ghaleon raised a brow. "There is nothing to do once one has passed. That is, in fact, the very point."

"Bah! You've seen me drunk before—this is nothing compared to that! Though what I wouldn't give to enjoy a good barrel of ale again, eh?" Dyne heartily slapped Ghaleon's back again, nearly sending Ghaleon to his feet. "But I meant what I said. You made amends, but you still have things you must repair in order to rest. Including a certain grounded city."

"And how shall I do that dead, Dyne? Or shall I be forced to be an urethral spirit such as you are now?"

Dyne laughed. "Not at all, dear boy! Althena did not leave me with a tear of her power strong enough for that and I'm certainly not powerful enough to do so!"

"Althena's power cannot restore life, Dyne, as you're well aware," Ghaleon said dryly as Dyne's words began to sink in. "It is an unnatural thing and it goes against everything Althena stood for."

Dyne nodded and squared his shoulders. "Althena cannot. However, her power was forced to merge with Zophar's when he attempted to absorb Lucia. For Zophar, he destroys what was created and twists what is natural. Combined, however briefly, with Althena's powers of creation and nature, and there is a small window that we will use to restore you. Thus, it is not unnatural, merely . . . less so. It will, however, be a most painful rebirth, and you may well spend quite some time recuperating."

"You're going to use what remains of your powers to try and harness Zophar's? You clearly have gone mad, Dyne." Ghaleon glared at Dyne. He'd learned the hard way the folly of using powers not innately your own, and yet Dyne seemed to eschew the very lesson he'd wanted Ghaleon to learn.

"I'll do nothing. The remnants of Althena's power already have harnessed Zophar's—I'm merely showing it the way. Besides," Dyne added, with a lost look in his eyes that Ghaleon had learned long ago was Dyne's own feelings towards the Goddess, "it was her will to do so, her hope, so her power won't need to be controlled. She wanted you to be reborn, but with her death that would have been impossible. She felt that you needed the chance to undo what you have done and live the life you were originally meant to live. It was her only regret that she could not see it through herself."

"If you could do this all along, Dyne, why not do it sooner? Why not restore yourself to life as well?" Ghaleon's lips and jaw twitched—would Dyne always try to be so noble and self-sacrificing? "If there is a way to live again, why not bring yourself as well?"

"My place is here, Ghaleon. Nowhere and between, able to move everywhere but never once travel. I'm here because there is no other, because even Althena knew that if humanity hoped to survive without her, there should be a guardian in place to ensure that if something went wrong, someone was able to reach out and find the humans who could help. I cannot fulfill that role through any other medium."

"So, it was you who led the boy to the Princess of the Blue Star?" Ghaleon deduced slowly. "And now you are trying to lead my to my 'fate?'" He wanted to scoff. How could a man dead twice have any fate at all left?

"I don't make fate, Ghaleon. I merely remind some of theirs." Dyne laughed, deeply, and Ghaleon felt the nostalgia rise within him at the familiar sound. Dyne had laughed like this frequently once, before the Goddess had interfered, before he'd been chosen as Dragonmaster . . . before he'd given up his power to make her human permanently. "As I'm doing with you, Ghaleon," Dyne added, interrupting Ghaleon's reminiscing. "Do me a favor and don't get yourself killed again. Three times really is just too much for a human, even if he's Vile Tribe."

Ghaleon's lips quirked into a small, sardonic smile. "I make no such promises, Dyne."

Dyne sighed dramatically. "You always were foolish with the gifts given you," he mourned, wiping at nonexistent tears in his eyes. "Ah well! No time like the present to send you right back. Well, more future-present. Can't have you going back yet before those kids realize they can and do defeat a god! Actually, they might already have; got a bit distracted with you here, but I'm sure they're fine! Anyway, off you go!"

Dyne reached out and touched Ghaleon's brow, and for all of Ghaleon's pride, he could not stop the scream of pain as Dyne used the remnants of Althena's power to catapult him back to life.

It seemed Ghaleon had no choice but to rejoin the living yet again, despite how weary his spirit was.


End file.
